“We used to have a bus. In a way, the Sixties ended the day we sold it, December 31st, 1969.” – Munchie

Before we get to today’s links, a brief site announcement:

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Season 24 starts on Sunday. There is no reason to expect that it will be any different than Seasons 23, 22, 21 or any other Zombie Simpsons run. In just the first episode, they’re spamming retread celebrity guests, getting Bart romantically involved yet again, and having the Simpson family take a trip to a place they’ve already been. You couldn’t design a more stereotypically pathetic episode if you deliberately set out to do so.

As announced back in May, we aren’t going to bother with minute analyses of these episodes anymore. Quite frankly, they’re just not worth it. The writing and creativity of this show bled out a long time ago, and it has shown no signs of life since. At some point you have to declare the autopsy over and send the carcass to the medical board.

Of course, this particular corpse won’t be zipped up that easily. The shambling zombie of the greatest show ever is currently signed for two more seasons, and it’s unlikely we’ll have any news about whether or not Season 25 will be the end until at least this time next year.

In the meantime, the two mainstay posts of this blog, Reading Digest and Quote of the Day, will continue indefinitely. And there will probably still be the occasional post about DVD commentaries, random episodes, and other little stuff. What there won’t be is a Monday morning wrap up or Crazy Noises for new episodes. Those two are kaput.

On days with new episodes of Zombie Simpsons, we’re going to put up a preview/open thread post. My personal goal is to watch no more than half the season, so while I make no promises to cover specific episodes, I am planning to do Compare & Contrasts for at least some of them.

Before Season 24 arrives to waste everyone’s time, however, I’ll be wasting my own doing my final Simpsons/beer marathon tomorrow. Season 7 (minus “Marge Be Not Proud”) is the only one I haven’t done yet, so there’s no need to vote this time. Check back tomorrow morning at 8:00am Eastern (US) and then throughout the day for all the drunken fun.

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As for today’s actual links, we’ve got two pieces of great fan art, several instances of moderate usage, some fantastic YouTube collections, Apu graffiti in Vegas, true life Hollywood, and a great Simpsons analysis that agrees with us.

Ask the average person about Lupe Vélez and you’ll probably be met with a blank stare. But query those same folks as to whether or not they’ve heard of the classic film star who “drowned in the toilet,” and they’ll likely perk up with smirking recognition.

We have Kenneth Anger’s book Hollywood Babylon to thank for that.

Of course, there are other (perhaps unwitting) accomplices: The Simpsons, wherein guest John Waters joked about the store where Vélez bought her toilet in the 1997 episode Homer’s Phobia;

“The pickup was definitely open-ended. Nobody ever said we’re going to stop the show after we produce these episodes,” he said. “So, you know, at the beginning I was hoping for five years, much less 25. I wouldn’t even guess where we’d end up.”

And second, when I say that many of the items in a given episode are completely unconnected to anything and could easily be swapped out, Al Jean may agree with me:

Fans might have noticed the promo ad for the 24th season that follows Homer Simpson as he casts his vote for president. That scene isn’t in any specific episode, but Jean said they might find a home for it yet. After the good response to the scene in which Homer voted in 2008, Jean knew he wanted to try to tie in the 2012 election.

Another word of warning. Avoid comedy shows. This mostly applies to those of us not from the UK. I wish I could find video of this, but there was an episode of the Simpsons where Groundskeeper Willie did some comedy. He said something like “Did you ever notice that people from Aberdeen hold their golf clubs like this, and people from Glasgow hold their golf clubs like this…” with accompanying motions. Get it? Me neither. That’s rather the point.

Excellent reference, though only moderate usage, Willie actually says, “So, have you noticed how north Edinburgh golfers putt like this, and south Edinburgh golfers putt like this”.

I thought of Homer recently, however, when I decided to try my latest crafty project because there’s an episode of The Simpsons in which he becomes an outsider artist. He is hitting a lump of clay, trying to create work for a new exhibit. I haven’t seen this one in a while, but I think he yells something like, “Come on, be art!”

Homer actually yells “Why won’t you be art?” while sticking a chainsaw into something, but that’s pretty close.

Better yet, Glory Days at the Biltmore Cabaret will host a Simpsons Halloween Party on Wednesday, Oct. 31. Dress as Krusty, Bart, Lisa or whatever Springfield resident you can think of to join the fun. Tickets are $30 and details available at biltmorecabaret.com. It may sound cartoonish but it’s definitely not for children.

If you nodded in agreement and applauded his profound wisdom when Homer Simpson shared his unique insight on beer with his son (“Bart, a woman is like beer. They look good, they smell good and you’d step over your own mother just to get one!”), then Kingfisher’s Great Indian Octoberfest is the right event for you to meet fellow beer-lovers and celebrate the golden elixir.

Homer actually says, “A woman is more like a beer. They smell good, they look good, you’d step over your own mother just to get one!” Again, though, that’s pretty close.

To quote one of the best Simpsons episodes ever, “Well folks, when you’re right 52% of the time,you’re wrong 48% of the time.” I didn’t exactly bring the heat last week, going 8-8. But since I picked the Packers, I’m taking the win. 9-7!

I don’t know that Smooth Jimmy’s associates would accept not paying on the Packers-Seahawks, but you never know.

Here is Lisa, for example: “I will iron your sheets when you iron out the inequities in your labor laws.” And here is Mr. Burns, after being told he’s very wealthy: “Yes, but I’d trade it all for a little more.”

30 Day Television Challenge: Day Eleven – And finally, I get to end the way I like to, with someone who not only agrees with us, but really gets into the decline and fall of the show. The whole thing is recommended:

There are few works – literature, music, film, television, etc. – that have influenced me in the way The Simpsons has. Not only did I inherit my sense of humor from The Simpsons, my entire stance towards the world was sharpened on its whetstone.

The first 8 seasons of The Simpsons are unimpeachable. They are the pinnacle of comedy and television.

Since my main point of interest in watching new episodes of ZS was being prepared for your coverage throughout the week, this makes going cold turkey much easier on me. I’ll continue to read your blog though.

Reading this blog was my primary way of keeping up with ZS without actually watching it… so while I’ll miss your great commentary, I’ll also be relieved knowing you’ll no longer be masochistically subjecting yourself to it on a weekly basis

Useful Legal Tidbit

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